Old Dominion’s Matthew Ramsey Inks Publishing Deal With Warner/Chappell

Warner/Chappell Music has landed Matthew Ramsey, frontman of the chart-topping country band Old Dominion, for a worldwide publishing deal.

Last year, Ramsey was named ASCAP’s Artist-Songwriter of the Year at the org’s annual awards in Nashville. That reflects not just Old Dominion’s successful run of No. 1 country airplay singles — they’ve had five, starting with 2015’s “Break Up With Him,” on up through “Hotel Key” this year — but the good fortune Ramsey has had as a writer outside of the band. Songs he’s co-written for Kenny Chesney (“Save It for a Rainy Day”), Dierks Bentley (“Say You Do”) and Sam Hunt (“Make You Miss Me”) have also reached the top of the charts. He’s also helped pen songs for Luke Bryan, Tim McGraw and the Band Perry.

“Some of the people at Warner/Chappell are among the very first people I met when I moved to Nashville,” Ramsey said in a statement announcing the signing. “We’ve sort of risen through the ranks together, but the opportunity to work directly with each other never quite lined up until now. I’m excited to work with a group of people that know how important songwriting is to me, and have cheered me on for over a decade.”

A “pumped” Ben Vaughn, president of Warner/Chappell Nashville, cited Ramsey’s “ability to make music that is uniquely identifiable, like the life observations in ‘No Such Thing as a Broken Heart’ or the commercial depth of ‘Written in the Sand.’”

Old Dominion’s sophomore album, “Happy Endings,” was released in August 2017 and debuted at No. 1 on the country album sales chart. All three singles released from the album reached the top of the airplay charts.

In October, Old Dominion released “Make It Sweet,” a new single earmarked for a forthcoming third album. They’re also using that as the name of their first headlining arena tour, a three-month, 23-city trek that begins Jan. 18 at Chicago’s Allstate Arena.

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